HCARC Happenings
November 2012
News for Amateur Radio Operators In and Around Hillsdale County Even
though Hurricane Sandy was
declared a post-tropical cyclone by the time it made landfall, the storm
still had winds in excess of 80 miles per hour.
Hams across the region responded to requests for assistance and
activated local nets, supported the Hurricane Watch Net’s and the VoIP
Hurricane Net’s operations, assisted their local and state Emergency
Operations Centers and provided assistance at shelters and wherever needed. (ARRL
story) The
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking that seeks to make changes the Amateur Radio licensing rules.
The FCC proposes to (1) require that Volunteer Examiners (VEs) give
examination credit to an applicant who can demonstrate that he or she
formerly held a particular class of license, (2) shorten the grace period
during which an expired amateur license may be renewed, (3) reduce the
number of VEs needed to administer an amateur license examination, (4) amend
the Amateur Service rules to allow amateur stations to transmit additional
emission types in order to permit Time
Division Multiple Access (TDMA). On
October 24, a summary of the proposal was published in the Federal Register
and the FCC is seeking comments, which must be filed by December 24.
(ARRL
story Request
for comments) Tuesday,
November 6 is Election Day. In
addition to the presidential election, there are many other offices and
proposals on the ballot. At the
state level, there are six proposals, senators and representatives, judges
and university trustees. Several
countywide offices are on the ballot and depending on your precinct there
may be other items to vote on, including a new income tax in Hillsdale City.
You can check if you are registered and find other election
information, including a map to your polling place and a sample ballot by
checking the Michigan Voter
Information Center. Depending
on where you live, there might be 30 or even more items to vote on.
Take some time to print and review your ballot ahead of time to be an
informed voter and reduce your time at the polling station.
Show your support for your presidential candidate with a special
edition Chia. The
Hillsdale Salvation Army is
looking for volunteer bell ringers for the upcoming holiday season.
The Kettle Campaign begins on Friday, November 2 and the goal this
year is $170,000. To volunteer,
go to myVolunteerpage.com
or call Kathy Stump at 437-4240. The
ARRL and the Salvation Army maintain a Memorandum
of Understanding encouraging ongoing liaison with each other. We
are fortunate to have 5 QSL card checkers in Michigan, who provide
these services to their fellow hams out of their desire to help promote ham
radio awards and DX contacts. ARRL
Michigan leadership has embarked on an effort to have a card checker
available at as many hamfests as possible throughout 2013, with a goal to
have a checker at 5-7 events across the state.
You can find information about the card checker program at http://www.arrl.org/dxcc-field-checking and search the ARRL
database of card checkers at http://www.arrl.org/dxcc-card-checker-search.
Note that none of the Michigan card checkers are able to check 160M
cards. There will be a
qualified 160M card checker at the Fort
Wayne Hamfest & Computer Expo which will be held on Nov. 17-18. GRE
America recently announced that GRE Japan is temporarily not able to
manufacture the GRECOM and Radio Shack branded radio scanners.
Current supplies of scanners and related accessories like the popular
preamplifier are low and no replacements will be manufactured.
Warranty service and repairs will continue on existing products here
in the U.S. for the foreseeable future.
The database updates for the PSR-800 will also continue.
Read the full
announcement at the GRE America
website. Tucked
into the U.S. Supreme Court’s agenda this fall is a little-known
case that could upend your ability to resell things like electronics, books,
artwork, furniture, CDs and DVDs. At
issue is the first-sale doctrine in copyright law, which allows you to
resell your stuff without worry because the copyright holder only had
control over the first sale. That’s
being challenged for products that are made abroad, and if the Supreme Court
upholds an appellate court ruling, it would mean that the copyright holders
of anything you own that has been made abroad would have to give you
permission to sell it. (Story
at marketwatch.com) Beginning
this winter The Weather Channel
will begin naming what it calls “noteworthy winter storms.”
As The Weather Channel explained on its website, “[a] storm with a
name is easier to follow, which will mean fewer surprises and more
preparation. In addition to
providing information about significant winter storms by referring to them
by name, the name itself will make communication and information sharing in
the constantly expanding world of social media much easier.”
Reaction
has been mixed. (ARRL
story) Five
research CubeSats – all with Amateur Radio communication systems
– were successfully deployed from the International Space Station in early
October. The satellites were
launched from the Kibo station module using a specially equipped robotic
arm. (ARRL
story) Club Corner Club officer elections will be held on November 15.
If you are interested in being a club officer, check the club
constitution for information about officer duties and election
procedures. Feel free to
contact any of the current
club officers for more information.
New faces, ideas and energy are always welcome.
If for some reason you cannot be at the meeting be sure to let
another member know what office(s) you want to be nominated for.
Need not be present to win. A
new page has been added to HCARC.com.
The ‘Repeaters’ page lists information for repeaters located
within the county. Check it
out! The
next Ham Breakfast will be Saturday, November 10 at 8am at the Coffee
Shop, 119 W Main, North Adams (map).
Please come join us. The
next club meeting will be Thursday, November 15 at Hillsdale High
School (map) in room 131. Take
Bacon Street to Hornet Drive, then turn left at the top of the hill into the
parking lot that long ago was the tennis courts.
Use the north entrance by the generator. The
annual Christmas dinner is tentatively scheduled for December 13 or
20 at a location to be announced. Don't
forget to check in to the Monday night net, held weekly at 7pm on the
147.06 repeater. Upcoming Events November 10 – Ham Breakfast at the Coffee Shop, North Adams (map) November 15 – Club Meeting and Officer Elections November 17 & 18 – Fort Wayne Hamfest (info
& map) December 6 – Board Meeting December 8 – Ham Breakfast December 13 or 20 – Christmas Dinner (replaces club meeting) |
Send us your comments and suggestions to K8HRC@arrl.net